- Understand that most of the work that goes into proving that you deserve a pay raise needs to happen far in advance of your actually requesting a raise
- Be sure that you have the leverage to ask for a raise before you do. Soon after a big personal win or major individual contribution to a high visibility project is a great time
- People find it harder to say no to others in-person. Asking for a raise over a call (even a video call) or via email limits your chances of having open dialogue and makes it all too easy to get a no.
- Your number one tool in successfully negotiating a raise is your ability to contextualize and document the value of your contribution to the businesses most important metrics. This is sometimes obvious to people in teams with numerical KPIs like operations, sales, commerce, and marketing, but for functions that are considered more support facing, with KPIs like “Keep the team happy,” it’s often a bit harder. One hack here is to measure (in this case) what happiness means, e.g team retention, likelihood to recommend to others as a good place to work, speed of offer acceptance and how these metrics help the business stay sustainable
- Reporting is the single most criminally underrated way to self promote. Do reports on everything: big, small and mid-weight projects. Not only does coming with receipts show initiative, it also gives you a chance to show off your contributions and loud your accomplishments as publicly as possible without looking smug.
- When you ask is just as important as how you ask. The top of the week, in the middle of a crisis, or at a time when the businesses numbers are declining are all examples of no go periods to request a raise.
- Managers rate you higher when they hear about your competence from people on the same or a similar level as themselves. Take time to nurture relationships and collaborate with functional heads outside of your line of reporting. Doing this will help amplify your personal kudos file and empower other leaders to speak up for you publicly and in private.
- Pick your most calculated friend and carefully choreograph your raise pitch on and with them. Specifically, practice your responses to objections that may occur.
- Never bring your personal life into a negotiation. “I just got married, and my bills have increased 40%” is a poor justification for your desired raise.
- Negotiate in percentages. Negotiating in percentages lets you sidestep having to mention a number upfront that you might fidget over and allows you and your manager to arrive at the number or the range you have in mind more systematically.
- Think about multiple negotiation levers. A direct salary raise not on the table? Would they be willing to consider a bonus? Increased stock options? or something else that you may find valuable
- If things don’t go exactly the way that you expect, fight the urge to threaten your manager (even subtly). Like it or not, your line manager is often the bridge between you and your desired raise, and ultimatums make you look weak.
- Dress the part. Not only does dressing well offer you a (much needed) psychological boost, it also helps your manager picture you in an elevated position of authority.
Masterpiece!! The combo of 4 and 5 guarantee success. Articulating and reporting the value added to the organization ensure success in getting pay increases. Well done Terv??
Thanks for reading (and for your kind words) as always!
Never seen anyone get raises like Terver. Number 5 is pure gold, don’t sleep on it.